1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to closure lids for potable containers having an open top, and more particularly to closure lids having a tear-away drinking section provided therein, and more specifically to lids having baffle walls projecting upwardly and inwardly from the edges which define the drinking section.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Early attempts to solve the spillage problem inherent in the transportation of open top containers having potables therein produced the snap-on closure lid. Thus, the lid would be releasably secured to the rim of the container at the point of dispensation and remain so engaged, until the arrival of the hour of libation necessitated the detachment of the entire lid from the rim. Thus, spillage was avoided during the transportation of the potable from the point of dispensation to the point of consumption. The spillage problem again appeared, however, when the lid was removed. Therefore, cruciform slits or circular openings were formed centrally of the lid which were adapted to receive straws therethrough. Thus, removing the closure lid was no longer necessary. Since all drinks are not best enjoyed when taken by straw, the next generation of lids were provided with perforations formed therein, defining drinking sections. The user of such a lid merely needed to separate that section of the lid within the bounds of the perforation lines from the remaining major portion of the lid to create a drinking aperture. The need for straws was thus obviated, but the sloshing problem was still extant, although reduced somewhat.
Further efforts to reduce sloshing involved the making of a lid which was sloped to allow liquids splashing from the drinking section onto the top of the lid to drain back into the cup. This effort, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,868,043 to Freemyer (1975), was directed to returning the horse into the barn, as opposed to keeping the horse in the barn initially. The latter approach is taken by the present invention.
Another recent effort, shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,938,695 to Russ, (1976), provided a plurality of grouped holes in a lid, through which liquid is imbibed. Baffle walls appear in the Russ device when the drinking section is depressed to allow the drinker to place his nose in aroma-receiving relationship with a grouping of holes provided for that purpose. These walls, however, slope downwardly and inwardly, thereby serving much the same purpose as the sloped lid disclosed by Freemyer.
Other efforts have become manifest in hingeably attached drinking flaps which may be opened and closed as desired, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,994,411 to Elfelt et al (1976), and as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,081,103 to Zoellick (1978), wherein the flap swings downwardly, into the container cavity, and also in U.S. Pat. No. 4,056,210 to Boyle (1977), wherein the flap is torn away by a motion directed from the center of the lid to the outer portion thereof.